1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a system of organizing and storing office tools. More particularly, the invention relates to a system of magnetically storing and organizing office stamps and other tools.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, when the term “stamp” or “rubber stamp” is used today to reference a marking device, it brings to mind a wood-handled rubber stamp that requires a remote pad in order to create an imprint. The majority of conventional holders for the storage of wood-handled stamps took advantage of the universal commonality in the wood handle shape and suspended the stamps from clips or hooks on racks. Another method of storage such wood-handled stamps used conventional magnets to mount the stamps on a stamp rack. One such method of storing wood-handled stamps with the use of a magnet is disclosed by Sinkiewicz (U.S. Pat. No. 2,996,004;1961), in which a permanent magnet is imbedded into the rear of the wooden handle or fastened to a bracket of non-magnetic material, which is then fastened to the stamp between the handle and stamp base or to the stamp base proper by means of screws or the like. Carter (U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,634; 1967) disclosed a related method in which a removable strip of commonly available permanent magnetic material was applied to the rear of the stamp.
Both methods included the use of a storage holding strip that had magnetically attractive material applied to the face of the strip. The strip was typically fastened to a vertical surface by mechanical fasteners and the stamps held in place by the magnetic force exerted on the magnetically attractive material. These methods had a disadvantage in that only relatively lightweight wood-handled stamps can be mounted in this manner. This is because the permanent magnets that were available in the 1960s were low energy magnets. The magnets were also, of course, limited in size, because they had to fit on the wood-handled stamp, without interfering with its operation. Because the magnets were small and low energy products, the load they could reliably secure was correspondingly small.
Another variation of the magnetic methods described above was in the form of a “kit” which comprised a stamp pad mounted to a base and around which existed by means of a hinged arrangement the same magnetically attractive material formed into a type of cover that acted as a holding area for the stamps. This kit has the disadvantage of the other magnetic methods described above, but it also has the disadvantage of occupying valuable desk space, while storing relatively few stamps.
In the late 1960s, an “inked” type of stamp emerged onto the market place that combined the stamp and ink into a single unit, eliminating the need for an ink pad. Today, the market is almost exclusively dominated by such inked stamps, which include types of stamps that are referred to as “self-inking”, “flash inked”, “pre-inked”, etc., although older wood-handled stamps remain in use. This shift from traditional wood-handled stamps to inked stamps created a need for a storage device capable of efficiently storing the various conventional types of stamps in use today.
The functional changes of the inked stamps resulted in changes to the conventional form, weight and construction materials used for office stamps. Most inked stamps have a bulky rectangular shape, without a handle from which to suspend the stamp from a rack. The self-inking type of inked stamps, for example, includes an inkpad within the stamp housing, and requires that the stamp rotate through an inking process before it is operational. Consequently, the stamp is significantly heavier and the stamp housing significantly larger than that of a wood-handled stamp that carries the same information. The known methods of magnetically holding office stamps were inadequate with regard to these inked stamps, primarily because the conventional magnetic materials were not strong enough to hold the new, heavier inked stamp.
Bertoni et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,951; 2003) discloses a stamp holder that is capable of holding a specific type of inked stamps, such as stamps having a box-like frame or case and openings on at least two opposite ends. A disadvantage of this stamp holder is its inability to hold other types of inked stamps, such as pre-inked or flash-ink stamps, older wood-handled stamps, or other office tools. Pichler (U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,686; 1999) discloses a device that holds the inked stamps, in addition to “other office utensils”, by inserting “an attachment” in at least one of the through-holes provided in the base of the device. The “attachment” must be uniquely adapted for each different stamp or office utensil. In other words, each stamp or utensil mates with a particular holder. This is impractical and inefficient in terms of convenience, cost and/or time because this system locks one into using stamps and mating holders from a particular supplier or manufacturer, or requires that the user obtain custom-made attachments to hold stamps and/or utensils not provided with the mating holder. Furthermore, the base of the Pichler holder occupies more desk space than if the stamps and utensils were arranged neatly side by side on the desk, and because a stamp or utensil fits only into a mating holder, the Pichler system requires that the user locate the mating holder for a particular stamp or utensil in order to store it after use.
What is needed, therefore, is a system of organizing and storing office stamps and/or tools that is universal in its ability to hold such stamps or tools of various shapes, sizes, and weights, including a combination of any type of inked and wood-handled stamps. What is further needed is such a system that enables ready access to each stored office stamp and/or tool. What is yet further needed is such a system that occupies a minimum of desktop space and requires no installation tools to install it.